Graduate Studies

M.S. in Organizational
and
Strategic Leadership

Organizational and Strategic Leadership involves the art and practice of strategic thinking - aligning an organization's vision
and strategy so that people can accomplish extraordinary things.

"Strategic leaders take a broad, long-range approach to problem-solving and decision-making through objective analysis, thinking ahead, and planning." The Wall Street Journal, September 19, 2009

Program Overview
Neumann’s Master of Science in Organizational and Strategic Leadership is an accelerated, 18 month, cohort-based graduate degree offered either on campus in Aston, on site at organizations, or totally online. The program prepares individuals to assume greater leadership roles in the workplace and in the community by offering a distinctively Franciscan, values-based perspective to the study of organizational strategy and effective management practices. Through intensive study, critical reflection, and experiential learning projects, students develop a world-view of business and societal challenges, discover their philosophy of effective leadership and master key leadership competencies (knowledge, skills and behaviors). The program prepares students to develop strategy, think like an executive, lead high-performing teams, and make a positive difference in the lives of others.

Program Design

The Master of Science in Organizational and Strategic Leadership program is accelerated and designed to fit busy schedules by integrating work and learning:

the program can be completed in 18 months;

courses are taught in intensive eight week modules by faculty who are practioner/scholars with significant leadership and management experience;

instruction is offered in class one night a week or online (anytime/anywhere);

students begin as a cohort group and serve as members of small, collaborative learning teams in each course.

The program consists of 30 graduate credits, delivered as ten (10) three-credit courses in eight-week sessions. All courses are taught seminar style and are highly interactive, through classroom and online discussions. Each course includes research, reflection and experiential learning components. The final capstone seminar involves the completion of a master's paper, an individual portfolio and a group action research project that is related to a defined need of a sponsoring organization. Typical projects are strategic plans, business start-up plans, grant proposals, market assessments, program evaluations as well as other organizational needs.
Organizational and Strategic Leadership Course Descriptions: ClickHERE (pdf)